I am always excited to learn new things, especially if I gain a deeper understanding about life. The best way to learn is to discuss and debate topics that make us uncomfortable. So, I started this site with the intension of communicating with others who have this same interest.

My hope is to cover topics that go well beyond what most people would call science or religion. Stephen J. Gould argued that Science and Religion form two non-overlapping magisteria, or NOMAs (see a discussion at http://www.afterourtime.com/wiki/index.php?title=Science_and_Religion). For gaining understanding, science uses the scientific method while religion is based on faith.

I argue that the full breadth of human endeavors fall within the realm of science and faith. Science is dominated by experimentation under the guidance of the scientific method, religion inspires faith, and political philosophies fall somewhere between.
I admit that I lean heavily in favor of the scientific method because I do not understand how faith can lead to the revelation of truth.

I spent many years trying to be religious, but felt uncomfortable with the notion that I had to accept as fact things that were not provable. The credibility of organized religion suffered in my mind when certain dogmas were clearly shown false by applying the scientific method. In light of such contradictions, many of us would be interested in how a scientist, engineer, or any other rationalist would be able to reconcile the two views.

A study of the historical record reveals that beliefs based on faith have evolved dramatically. We no longer believe that the earth is flat, that the sun orbits the moon, or that the gates of heaven are not far beyond the clouds. The domain of religion has been shrinking as science produces more evidence. If the pace of science continues, religion may soon be squeezed out of the remaining cracks in our present knowledge. Perhaps this is the root of today's resurgent resentment of science.

I am the most gullible person on the planet. You can get me excited into a buying frenzy of bad investments, get the better of me in a practical joke, and fool me into believing comical things that are false. One of Richard Feynman's quotes is a good warning to people like me, "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself -- and you are the easiest person to fool." For this reason, I have made the scientific method a central part of my life and my career.